


A New York Christmas

by InkAndFire



Series: Family Fluff [1]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Adopted Philip is a bean, Alex And John are so sweet, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Fluff, Jefferson is a jerk, M/M, Mild Swearing in French, Vague mention of Mullette, but it's fluffy as heck, this is long
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:27:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22043320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkAndFire/pseuds/InkAndFire
Summary: Alexander gets to take Christmas off for the first time in years. He's excited to spend it with his boyfriend and adopted son. Of course, life isn't always that smooth. There are some bumps in the road along the way.
Relationships: Alexander Hamilton/John Laurens
Series: Family Fluff [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1670965
Comments: 48
Kudos: 78





	1. Office Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! I really hope you like this. It's a Christmas present for a friend, so if there are any grammatical or other errors, PLEASE let me know. Thank you! :)

With one final tap of his keyboard, Alexander leaned back in his chair. His report of sixteen pages, that took half as many days to complete, printed next to him. When it finished, he grabbed the papers, checked the order and stapled them together. Standing up and stretching, he walked out of his office for the day, grabbing his coat and heading down the stairs. He dropped the report in his boss, Washington’s box, and headed to sign out. Looking at the clock, he began writing. Suddenly, a loud voice sounded behind him.

"Oh! What a coincidence! I was just leaving as well!” Jefferson. Straightening up, Alexander turned around.

"I'm not in the mood for your antics, Thomas," he said. Jefferson quickly signed out and looked at Alexander. 

"Well, if I can’t talk to you, at least tell Laurens, your, ah,  _ boyfriend  _ that I said hello.” Alex’s face suddenly changed from dislike to pure fury. 

“Are you really going to go there? Are you going to go so low as to target my being gay?”

“No, no,” Jefferson cut in innocently. “I have no problem with you being gay. I just think that Laurens could have...chosen better.” He grinned. Alexander was livid. He strode toward Jefferson and shoved him backward. The taller man fell back a little but managed to keep his balance. All traces of arrogance had gone from his face; they were replaced by disgust. “Don't you touch me,” He paused for a split second. “ _ Orphan. _ ” Jefferson spat the insult as though it were a swear word. 

“I swear to God, Jefferson! I'll f-” but before he could finish his threat, someone walked into the room. That someone happened to be the boss of both men. 

" _ What  _ is going on here‽" Washington came into the room, looking between both parties. Neither one spoke. They looked like young children being scolded for some prank. "I try to get one quiet moment in my office, and I have to come out here to stop a brawl! Are you not both members of the governmental system‽"

"Yes, sir." Both men spoke together.

"Then act like it!" Washington paused for a moment. "Now, do either of you have that report I asked for a week ago?” Alexander spoke up quickly. 

“I have mine, sir. Just turned it in.” 

“Good. Jefferson?” The man in question reddened slightly. 

“On your desk by the end of tomorrow,” he said stiffly. Once again, Hamilton had done it quicker, and probably better, now that Thomas had given himself a time frame. They both worked well, Alexander just worked faster and more ambitiously. These thoughts, among other things, were going through Washington’s mind as he nodded and turned to go back to his office. All was silent for a few moments until Jefferson, now thoroughly embarrassed, as others in the office had come downstairs to check on the racket, turned and left the building. Alexander turned to leave as well but decided against it, and instead walked toward Washington's office and knocked lightly three times. Soon enough, the door opened. 

“Hamilton?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Come in.” Alexander did so and shut the door behind him. Sitting down across from Washington at the older man’s desk, Alexander realized how unnerving this would be, considering the earlier situation. His thoughts were interrupted by his boss’s voice from across the desk. “You wanted to talk about something?”

“Y-Yes, sir. First of all, I want to apologize for my earlier behavior. I was out of line, and reacted far too strongly to Thomas’s insults.” Washington raised an eyebrow.

“Apology accepted. Now, what do you want from me?” he asked jokingly. Alexander blinked. 

“What?” Washington smiled gently.

“Don't worry, I can usually tell when someone wants something from me.” Alexander reddened slightly. 

“Well, sir… I  _ was _ going to ask…” He paused. This was awkward. “Could I, uh, could I take Christmas day off?” He looked down. “I know Christmas is in two days and it’s kinda short notice. I mean, I could come in earlier the day after or something!” he added hastily. Washington smiled again. 

“Of course you can take Christmas off. I was planning to let you anyway. No need to come in early, either.”  Alexander looked up.

“Really?” Washington nodded. “Thank you so much!!”

“You deserve it, son. You’ve worked twice as hard as anyone here, with half as many breaks!” Alexander smiled. 

“I appreciate that, sir!”

“Of course. Now, go home and get some rest. You seem like you could use it.”

“Yes, sir.” Alex laughed lightly and left the office. 


	2. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the adorable little bean that is Philip!  
> As always, con-crit is welcome. Enjoy! :)

“John? Philip?” Alexander walked into the small house and hung his coat on the stand.

"Yeah! We're in here!" Alexander walked into the kitchen. John and Philip were standing at the stove while a pot of soup simmered away. Philip, being just barely too short to reach, was standing on a small stool. Upon seeing Alexander enter the room, the nine-year-old jumped off his stool and ran toward Alex.

"Dad!" Alexander bent down, his arms outstretched. Philip ran into them and gave Alex a big hug. The young man picked Philip up and kissed him on the nose, then set the boy back down and ruffled his hair.

"Did you help your dad with dinner tonight?" Asked Alex, smiling. Philip nodded proudly, while Alex walked over to John, wrapped his arms around and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"How was your day?" John asked, untangling himself from Alex to ladle soup into three bowls. Alex just shrugged his shoulders and sat down. "Let me guess. Something happened at work today, it always does, but you don't want to talk about it?" Alexander grinned. 

“You know me too well, don't you, John?”

"Isn't that my job?"

"No!" John laughed and sat down at the other end of the table. Philip sat in between the two. Alexander opened his mouth to mention that he was going to have Christmas off for the first time in years, but decided against it. He didn’t need to bring that up, besides, surprising them would be nice. Of course, John noticed his boyfriend’s hesitation.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hm? Oh, nothing.”

“Nope, not buying it. Explain.” Alex knew he wouldn’t get off the hook, so he decided he might as well talk about what happened earlier.

“It's just Jefferson.” John rolled his eyes.

“What happened this time?”

“Just…” Alexander’s eyes drifted to Philip, who was listening. “Nothing. We just had a disagreement.”

“Uh-huh. Over what?” This time, Alex pointedly tilted his head in Philip’s direction. Realization dawned on John’s face. “Ah. Okay, we’ll talk about it later, but we _are_ going to talk about it, Alexander.”

“Okay, Okay! Could you be any pushier?” John looked at him slyly. 

“I mean, technically I _could_...” Alexander rolled his eyes, and pushed his somehow empty bowl away, standing up from the table.

“I’m going up to our room to finish up some work. Maybe then I can come home early tomorrow.” John nodded.

“Alright.” 

As Alex headed up the stairs, thoughts swirled in his mind. Jefferson, Washington, his work, his reputation, Christmas...It seemed as though everyone had forgotten about Christmas. John usually asked if he would have it off, even though he knew the answer. Philip had been so excited last year. Last year was Philip’s first Christmas with John and Alex, they had finalized the adoption last May. It had taken Philip a few months to adapt, but once he did...Alexander smiled. Philip was so happy. Alexander was glad to have rescued him from a fate similar to _his_ early life. A secret that neither John nor Philip knew, and he wanted to keep it that way.  
He was so absorbed in his thoughts that when he reached his desk, he had no recollection of getting there. Smiling, he sat down and opened his laptop.


	3. Old Secrets

“Alex?” John’s voice jolted Alexander out of his concentration. “What are you still doing up?” John had just come into the room. Yawning, Alexander spun his chair around. 

“I’m working. The better question is what are _you_ doing awake?” John rolled his eyes.

“I put Philip to bed and decided to read for a bit. I guess I fell asleep on the couch,” he said sheepishly. Alexander chuckled. He turned back to the computer and checked the time on the screen. 2:46 AM. He started typing again. Suddenly a hand came from behind him and shut the laptop. “Nope,” John said simply. “You’re going to get more than 3 hours of sleep tonight.” Alexander sighed, and stood up, glad he had saved before John shut the computer. Walking into the bathroom to change, he yawned again and thought his boyfriend was probably right, he should get some sleep.

Climbing into bed, Alex leaned back into John, who tossed a blanket over him and an arm around him. Just as Alexander began to fall asleep, John spoke.

“So, what happened earlier?”

“What?”

“You didn’t want to talk about it in front of Philip, so I figured we should wait until, you know, now.”

“Oh. Yeah. It was just…” Alex struggled to focus for a minute. He was not going to get any sleep until he answered. John was just that worried, and kind enough to be. "Just Jefferson."

"Yeah, I know that, what did he do?" Alexander turned around to face John

"Oh, you know, a few insults here and there, mainly targeted at… _us_." John nodded. 

"Ah. So what happened?"

"Well, he ended up saying he didn’t have a problem with us being gay or whatever, but that you basically should have 'chosen better' than me for a boyfriend. Then I...um…" Alex trailed off. John rolled his eyes, grinning.

"Oh, God. What did you do?" 

"I may or may not have shoved him backward…" John sighed. Typical, defensive Alex. "But then he insulted me again!" Alex added quickly.

"What did he say?" Alex shifted uncomfortably. That _particular_ insult was what had stung deep. He didn't usually react to insults, but if they regarded either John or his childhood, he was likely to get upset.

"It's nothing, really! He just called me a name." John's face fell.

"Alexander, please. I wasn't going to take it this far, but you're worrying me. You usually just tell me what happened, insult Jefferson, and let it go. What did he call you?"

"Orphan," Alex muttered quietly. He regretted it as soon as he said it. So much for keeping _that_ a secret. John sat straight up.

"Alexander, is there something you aren't telling me?" Alex buried his head in the pillow to hide the tears streaming down his face. It shouldn't have gone this far. It was just some stupid thing that someone had said! But it hurt. It brought back memories of the Caribbean and his parents…

He hadn't realized how hard he was crying until John gently laid a hand on his back to try and calm him.

"I'm s-sorry," he managed.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Alex!" The pair stayed like that for a few minutes, until Alex was able to calm himself enough to sit up.

"Sorry," he muttered again.

"Don't be. Do you want to talk about it now?" Alex hesitated.

"I guess you should know. I knew you'd find out eventually, but I hoped it wouldn't be...like this." John just smiled and took his boyfriend’s hands into his own.

"I'm listening."

* * *

All was silent for a few minutes after Alexander finished explaining. This was the first time he had explained everything to one person. He really _had_ told everything. His parents, the hurricane, getting to America...everything. John stayed next to him through all of it, consistently rubbing slow, soothing circles on Alex’s back. 

“Oh, Alex,” he breathed. John gently pulled Alexander into a hug, and when he accepted, John held his boyfriend firmly, doing his best to reassure him. Alexander leaned into him, still crying. “I’m so sorry...” A few deep breaths later, Alexander was finally able to pull himself together.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” he sighed. “Well, now you know.” John nodded.

“Well, everything is okay now, and I’m always here if you want to talk, alright?” Alexander nodded, then yawned. John chuckled. “You should get some sleep!” He glanced at the luminous clock on the small nightstand. “Alexander, it’s 4 AM!” It was Alex’s turn to laugh.

“Around the time I usually get to sleep then!”

“What?!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding! ...Maybe.”

“Alex, I swear!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are more chapters coming! I can't put 'Christmas' in the title then not write about Christmas!  
> It might be a while until I update though. What do you guys think so far? Feel free to comment or leave some con-crit. it's always welcome.


	4. Day Two

“Don't forget your coat, Alex!” Alexander gave a start and turned around to see a stern-looking John holding his coat up. The young man rolled his eyes and walked toward John, who helped his boyfriend into the coat. “I am _not_ dealing with you getting sick again on Christmas.” Alexander laughed lightly. 

“You don't want me to take Christmas off of work?”

“Alexander, we both know you haven’t intentionally taken a day off work, like, ever.” Alex rolled his eyes, kissed John, and headed out the door, calling his goodbye quietly into the house so as not to wake his son. Philip was still asleep, as he should be. 

As he crossed the street, now only a few minutes away from the office, he was suddenly blinded as the sun peered over a rooftop. Walking down the now sunrise-lit street, Alexander marveled at the beauty of the normally dreary avenue. The gentle storm last night had covered the shops and houses with a light dusting of snow, making them look like perfectly-made gingerbread houses. The sun’s light was still weak, but the beautiful scene would be melted in a few hours time he knew, so slowly, he took his phone out of his pocket and snapped a quick photo.

It was a fairly short walk from that location to the office, and Alex could cover the total distance in ten minutes or less, but today, it took him twenty. Of course, he always left ridiculously early, so this wasn’t a problem. Shaking the snow off his boots, he stepped inside and clocked in. When he reached his office, there was a small package on his desk with his name on it. Literally. It was wrapped in brightly colored paper, and was fairly small. ‘Alexander’ was written across the top of the wrapping. Alex smiled, and opened the card that had been resting underneath it. Two fifty-dollar bills fell out. The smile changed to a look of astonishment. Shaking his head, he turned toward the card. The outside had a plain white background with ‘Merry Christmas’ written in blue.

  
  


**Alexander,**

**I wanted to simply say thank you for all the work you do here. I know we’re in completely different departments, but you’ve still helped me out quite a bit. Most of the ‘extra work’ you ask for ends up coming from my department. I’ll tell you, it takes a huge burden off our shoulders. I’ve been able to spend more time with my wife and daughter, and I really appreciate that. Still, I daresay it takes time away from you, your boyfriend, and your son. Please enjoy your time off, and buy yourself, John, or Philip something nice with the extra cash. Maybe all three! Again, I can’t thank you enough, Alexander. Merry Christmas to you and your family.**

**-Aaron Burr**

Alexander smiled. Aaron was a totally different (and higher-level) department than him! That card really meant a lot. And the $100…That had probably come from a bonus or something. Alexander smiled again. He didn’t know Aaron all that well, and yet...the man had elected to give away $100 of his check, plus some kind of gift in that box that he hadn’t opened. Slowly, he tore the paper off the box to find a jewelry box. Confused, Alex opened the lid and gasped. It was an expensive watch! The same brand he had complimented Aaron on many weeks prior. Alexander laughed incredulously. Why had this man spent so much money on someone he barely knew? Deciding to ask him about it at lunch, he sat down and opened his computer. Maybe, if he worked fast, he could start and finish that next essay Washington wanted as well as review some of those new recruit files.

* * *

Heading downstairs to the breakroom for lunch, Alex looked around for Aaron. Truth be told, he didn’t typically  _ want _ to go down to lunch, and Lafayette, a friend and coworker, had to practically drag him downstairs for more than three minutes to eat. Today, however, he was looking for conversation. Quickly, he spotted Aaron, and headed toward him.

“Aaron Burr, sir!” The man in question turned around and began to walk over to the younger man, smiling.

“Alexander!” he said when they finally shook hands. “I’ve told you there’s no need for the last name or the title,” he added, grinning.

"Of course," Alex replied, smiling as well. The pair headed for a small corner table, chatting.

Alexander tried to seem casual while he talked, but really, he was, internally,  _ very  _ awkward. Aaron wasn't a 'friend' really, just a high level acquaintance that he spoke to often. Yet he was, and had always been, spoken to like an equal by him. Aaron had a way of making him feel valuable. 

After a while, the conversation dropped off a bit and Alex had the courage to ask what he had been wanting to. 

“Aaron?”

“Yeah?”

“I, uh, just had a question.”

“Yeah! Go ahead! Sorry, I should have figured you wanted to talk about something when you first walked up to me. I kind of went on a tangent. My bad.”

“No, no, you’re fine!” Alexander said, grinning, though Burr really  _ had _ been the only one talking for the last few minutes. “I just wanted to ask about the, uh, present…” Aaron smiled. 

“What about it?” Alexander fiddled with the coffee cup he held; another courtesy of Aaron. He debated internally what to say. Did he really want to refuse it? No, that wouldn’t be nice, and...he really could use the cash. The watch though. What was he going to say about it? It was nice but he couldn’t keep it. No way! Maybe he could give it to John, or sell it. But that would be the same as refusing it. It would be so nice to ask Aaron for advice, he was so good with that, but he couldn’t. You can’t ask advice on what to do with a gift from the person who gave you the gift! Finally, Alexander’s brain made all his thoughts into one simple question that made it past his lips before he could catch it.

“Why?” The man across from him smiled as widely as he possibly could.

“Because you deserve it, man! Getting you a raise was the least I could do! The watch was just something I thought you’d like!” But Alexander was focused on the first half of what Aaron had said.

“Wait, a-a raise?”

“Well yeah! I talked to George in November and he agreed you deserved one! That was the extra $100 from your November pay that you didn’t get. I talked to him about a promotion, but he said you’ve refused multiple promotions already.”

George. As in George Washington. This man was on first name terms with the president, and still thought him, Alexander, worthy enough to pay attention to and inquire about promoting! He could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks. 

“Th-Thank you, sir! Er, I mean, uh, Aaron…” The older man smiled at the awkwardness written across Alex’s face.

“Of course. And, hey…” Alexander looked up quickly, his eyes accidentally locking with Aaron’s. “You  _ do  _ deserve this.” Alex didn't know how to respond, considering he had just been thinking the exact opposite. That being said, he was glad when his phone sounded, signifying the end of his self-designated break time.


	5. Friendly Banter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is short, but it seemed a good place to end. Well, enjoy!

As he walked back up the stairs to his office, he heard running footsteps behind him. 

”Wait, up, Alexander!” The smooth, French-accented voice carried well up the stairs, and Alex, who knew immediately who it was, turned to wait for his friend. 

“Well, well, well. Look who didn’t show up for lunch today!” The young treasury-secretary joked.

“Look who didn’t need to be forced to eat!” Lafayette countered, grinning. Alexander chuckled a bit, and continued walking, his friend striding next to him. 

“Who says I ate anything?” Alex asked. “I just drank coffee.” Lafayette rolled his eyes.

“Of course you did,” he said, exasperated. “Anyway,” he continued, “What did you get John for Christmas? A _ring?_ ” he asked teasingly. 

“Shut up!” Lafayette didn't notice Alexander glance over his shoulder as though making sure no one heard them.

“Oh come on! Do I at least get to come to the wedding?” Lafayette joked.

“Only if I get to come to you and Herc's. When is that planned for again? Sometime around...never?”

“Hey!” Lafayette shouted, indignant. "I mean it's not like I haven't thought about it, but shut up!" Alexander laughed. 

“Well, I’d better get back to work.” The pair had indeed reached Alex’s office. The Frenchman’s face fell slightly. 

“You haven’t had much of a break!” He looked concerned. “You do this far too often, Alexander. You need to take some time off for once, just relax.”

“I know, I know, I'm taking Christmas day off work this year to hang out with John and Philip. Don't worry about me, okay?” For a split second, he could have sworn he saw a glint in the taller man’s eye, but it was gone as quickly as it came. 

“Very well. I’ll let you get back to work.”

"Thanks, Laf. Hey, if I remember correctly, you never take Christmas off, do you?” His friend shook his head. “Maybe you could come to our place, then! Philip _loves_ hanging out with you!" Lafayette smiled warmly.

“That is a very kind offer, mon ami. I may take you up on that, so long as you are actually home tomorrow!” 

“Oh ha-ha!” Alex said, grinning. “I _will_ be home tomorrow, and I hope to see you there too.” Lafayette inclined his head by way of a goodbye, and walked further down the hallway in the direction of the president’s office.

* * *

There was a gentle knock on the president’s door. Washington quickly looked up from his work.

“Come in.” Lafayette slowly stepped into Washington’s office and shut the door behind him as he’d always been told to do.

“May I ask a small favor of you, sir? It’s for a friend.” the president smiled.

“Of course! Please, sit down.”


	6. Running Into A Friend

Alexander walked over to his desk and sat down, smiling. He knew Lafayette wouldn’t normally take Christmas off. Most of his family was still in France, and were having issues of their own, mainly political. His kindhearted friend didn’t want to be involved in any sort of arguing if he could help it, and he certainly wasn’t going to pay $300 for a plane ticket to go out of his way to intervene. Mostly he just worked during Christmas. The past few years, Alex had his friend come over every once in a while to spend time with him and John; people, he knew, liked, and was pretty comfortable around. A close friend family of sorts. Then, last year, when Alex and John had adopted Philip, Lafayette had been delighted, and had treated him like he would have his own son! It would be absolutely wonderful to have him for Christmas. Of course, that would have to be okay with John, so Alex quickly shot him a text:

**_Hey, Think Laf could come over for_ **

**_A bit on Christmas this year?_ **

**_Philip would be so happy_ **

John's response came quickly:

_**Yeah, sure.  
Will you be home, though?** _

There it was. The inevitable question. He had never been able to answer ‘yes’ before. As he began to type his response, there was a knock on his door frame. He had forgotten to shut the door! Whipping around in his seat, Alex saw…

“Mr. President! What can I do for you, sir?”

“Go home, Alexander.” Alex was shocked.

“S-Sir?!” But Washington was smiling. 

“A friend of yours requested you go home early today, and spend more time at home, since you only planned on taking a day off. Which, by the way, I’ve extended. You are going to take the rest of this week off, Alexander. I know, I know,” he said, in response to the incredulous look on his employee’s face. “But you haven’t taken a day off since you started working here, and you both deserve one and, quite frankly, need one.” Slowly, Alex nodded.

“Alright, sir,” he said, hesitantly. “Thank you, I suppose. Also," he added quickly, "Can I assume the friend was Lafayette, sir?” Washington nodded.

“And I would thank him, not me,” he added, grinning, as he left the office.

Alex's expression fell as soon as the office door closed. He wasn't planning on going home for quite a while! Then again, he smiled at the thought, it would be nice to spend time with John and Philip, and he could buy Philip's present on the way home! When he was packed and had put his coat back on, he headed downstairs. On his way, he conveniently ran into Lafayette. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that Lafayette ran into him. Literally.

"Merde! ***** Sorry, Laf!" Alex said hastily, helping his friend up amidst all the paperwork that had flown into the air and was slowly floating down around them. _**(*Merde: Shit in French )**_

"It's okay, it's okay," Lafayette replied, frantically trying to catch the papers and put them in order. He didn't seem to notice that the person he ran into was his best friend.

"Here, I'll help." Alexander bent down to help retrieve the papers.

Once everything was in order and accounted for, both men stood up and made eye contact. Lafayette practically jumped back in surprise.

"Oh! I'm sorry, mon ami! I didn't realize it was you!" he said sheepishly. Alex grinned.

"Ah, no worries. What time do you get off today?"

"Same time as you, like always…" Lafayette said, sounding a little confused. "At least, when you are _supposed_ to get off," he added quickly.

"So you’re about to leave?” Alex asked cheekily.

“What…? Since when do you leave on time, let alone early?”

"Since you told Washington to let me go home early,” Alex replied, grinning widely. The Frenchman's face stayed surprised for a few moments before breaking into a smile as well. 

"Oh, alright! Yes, I asked Washington to send you home early. I figured I'd do you a favor. I already have to force you downstairs to eat, do I have to force you to go home before you pass out again too?"

"I-It was one time okay‽" Alex stuttered, reddening slightly.

Sure enough, a few years back, Lafayette had walked into Alex's office to drag him to lunch, only to find him slumped over his desk, not having slept for four days in a row. Remembering this, Lafayette laughed. 

"Well, I'll let you get going then," he said. The pair called their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Alex downstairs and Lafayette upstairs. After Alexander signed out, he stood and furtively glanced over his shoulder for any sign of Jefferson. _Really, Alexander? It was one time. Pull yourself together!_ He scolded himself. 

As he pushed open the front door, he realized just how rare it was that he left when the sun was up. Yesterday was probably the first day in a long while, and it was only because he needed to buy John's... present. Reaching into his pocket, he brushed his fingers over the small, velvety box. He desperately hoped his boyfriend would like it. Finally, he pulled himself together and left, the small bells on the door ringing out a goodbye.


	7. Welcome Home

Casually walking down the still snow-dusted street, he finally came to a stop in front of the shop he was looking for. He knew exactly what Philip wanted, he'd just have to find the right ones. He entered the shop, the little brass bells on this door playing out the same melody as the ones at the office. The shop was quaint and old styled. The floor, shelves, and walls were wooden, as was at the counter where the shopkeeper stood. Alex looked around for a few minutes and finally found exactly what he was looking for: ice skates. They were the perfect size, and were colored a beautiful Cobalt blue, Philip's favorite. He carefully lifted them down from the shelf and checked them over for scratches or chipped paint. They were handmade, the main shoe was crafted out of wood, and lined with cotton wool. The blade on the bottom was surprisingly sharp for having been hand sharpened. Alexander found this out the hard way, when he cut his finger on it while trying to flip it over.

"Ow!" He nearly dropped it, but managed to catch it by the lace, earning a reproachful stare from the shopkeeper. Nursing his cut finger, he walked up to the counter to pay. After some dickering on the price, which was traditional of a shop like that, he left with the perfect Christmas present for his son all wrapped up, and even in a box. Courtesy of the shopkeeper. 

The door of the house closed behind Alex with a click. It sounded like John and Philip were upstairs, perhaps in Philip's bedroom. After setting the box on the kitchen table he quietly made his way upstairs. As he got closer to Philip's room, his guess was confirmed when he heard laughing behind the not-quite-closed door. Gently, he eased it open. All sound stopped for a split second. Then…

"Alexander?!"

"Dad?!" And suddenly there was a 9-year-old in his arms hugging him as tightly as he could. John stayed sitting on the bed, smiling incredulously at the scene before him. When Philip stepped back, John took his place in his boyfriend's arms.

"Well! Why are _you_ back so early?" John teased happily, pulling Alex into a deep kiss. Philip looked away from the kissing adults, in typical 9-year-old fashion. 

"Let's just say, Laf talked to Washington," Alex said when they broke apart. John laughed, and Alexander smiled. That sound could never fail to make him happy. 

After a few minutes of happy chattering, and a lot more hugs, finally, Philip asked,

"So what are we going to do for the rest of the day?" Alex, now sitting on his son’s bed with the rest of them, was slightly at a loss. What does one do when they’re not working? Thankfully, John spoke up. 

"How about a movie?" Alex and Philip both nodded eagerly, and for a split second, it was hard to tell who was the child. John grinned. "Well come on then! First one to the couch gets to choose!" 

Alex was closest to the door, but Philip had a much easier time sprinting down the stairs, with the result of the 9-year-old jumping triumphantly on the couch before either of his dads could even make it into the living room.

"Mulan!" He yelled, smiling. John and Alex looked at each other, grinning. A house of Disney fans.

“You got it, kiddo!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, a short chapter, but it was a good place to stop.


	8. Merry Christmas

Glancing at the clock, Alexander slowly climbed out of bed, doing his best not to wake John. He smirked silently as he thought of what John would say if he knew his boyfriend was up at this hour. Not that it wasn't regular of course. Quietly slipping down the staircase, he repositioned the box under his arm. He had managed to hide the present in the shared bedroom when John had taken Philip into the boy's room to change into pajamas after the movie. Alex smiled again, remembering how Philip had fallen asleep on top of John, who had also dozed off. The picture Alex had taken of this adorable event was _certainly_ not sitting as his lock screen in his phone upstairs. He quietly leapt from the bottom stair onto the wood floor below, quiet as a cat. Creeping over to the Christmas tree he gently placed his gift among the other boxes littering the floor beneath it. As he stood back, he smiled, imagining how lively this very room would be in the morning, despite how quiet and calm it was now. He turned to head back up the stairs and took one last sweeping glance of the room. 

Once he shut the door to the shared bedroom, he crawled back into bed with John, who tossed an arm around him sleepily. 

* * *

Alex’s eyes fluttered open a few hours later as he awoke to Philip climbing up onto the bed next to him. 

“Oh, sorry,” Philip said, embarrassed. “I didn’t want to wake you up.” Alex smiled and sat up to ruffle his son’s hair. 

“It’s okay, kiddo! Merry Christmas!” Philip’s face lit up.

“Oh yeah!” His shout caused John to stir. He too sat up, his hair a bit of a mess. Alex chuckled and ran a hand through the curls, neatening them a little. 

“Morning, darling. Merry Christmas,” he said, smiling. John grinned.

“Merry Christmas.” Alexander tossed his legs over the side of the bed, stretching and yawning. He headed into the bathroom to change and emerged a few minutes later buttoning the top of his shirt. John was sitting on the bed with Philip. They had both changed as well, with little accessories added onto their regular outfits. John had reindeer antlers on and Philip was wearing a little elf hat. When Alex came out of the bathroom, Philip gasped and ran toward him holding a Santa hat. 

“You have to wear something too!” the little nine-year-old exclaimed looking eagerly at Alex. Alex glanced at John, who stifled a snicker. 

“Do I have to?” he asked, though smiling and crouching down so Philip could place the hat on his head. 

“Yes,” Philip said, once Alexander had straightened up. The white tassel dangled in front of his face, and he batted it to the side.

“Well,” said John, standing up. “Should we go downstairs?” he asked. Philip beamed.

“Let’s go!”

As John and Philip headed downstairs, Alex grabbed a small box out of the drawer of the nightstand and put it in his breast pocket, then followed the other two. Philip was sitting on the floor by the tree holding a small flat box out to John, who took it.

“I think you have one too, Alex,” he said, crossing to the couch and sitting down. Alex did the same after taking the second box from Philip. The little boy jumped up and ran to the couch to sit in-between his parents. John pulled the ribbon off his box first and opened it.

“Woah!” He pulled out a drawing of a turtle. Not any drawing. It had been carefully outlined, colored and shaded. “Did you draw this, Philip?” Philip nodded. “This is _really_ good, kiddo!”

“Thanks,” Philip said quietly. “I know you like turtles, so…” John gave Philip a quick squeeze. 

“Well thank you! Alex, how about you open yours?” Grinning, Alex pulled the ribbon off his own box and lifted the lid. Letting out a small laugh, he caught John’s eye and smirked. He pulled out another drawing. This one was of a steaming coffee mug that read: Dad. Alex felt tears prick the backs of his eyes. It really was drawn well. There was a beautiful outline, all the colors stayed in the lines and it all fit together perfectly. 

“Thank you so much, buddy!” Philip smiled, pleased with himself. 

“Alex, you wanna go next?” John asked.

“Huh-uh, you guys get my stuff last!” John rolled his eyes and pulled forward two more boxes, handing one to Alex and one to Philip. Philip eagerly tore the ribbon off of his and gasped.

“Colored pencils!” he exclaimed. “I needed new ones! Thanks, dad!” He got up and ran to John, hugging him tightly. 

“No problem! I hope they work well!”

“Of course they will, they’re from you.” John smiled at Philip. Then, he looked at Alex.

“Well, you next!” Alex took the box that John offered him. New pens and some old-fashioned quills and ink!

“Woah! Where the heck did you find _these_?” 

“Online, silly!” Alexander leaned over and gave John a quick kiss, before taking another few minutes to check out the large number of new writing implements. Finally, he had John pull the final box out from under the tree and he handed it to Philip.

“Open it, buddy!” Philip pulled the box toward him. Alex’s was the only gift that had been wrapped, so Philip had a great time tearing the paper off. “Open the box!” he urged, grinning broadly. Philip carefully lifted the lid off and froze, a look of pure wonder on his face.

“O-Oh my…” he gingerly pulled the pair of ice skates out of the box. John grinned.

“Guess you get to be the favorite for a while,” he joked. Alex stuck his tongue out at him, then turned toward Philip again. 

“Try them on!” Philip slipped the skates over his feet. Alex held out his hands, and his son took them and stood up, wobbling slightly, but grinning broadly. The smile grew, if possible, bigger, when,

“They fit perfectly!” Philip sat down and took the skates off as quickly as he could without damaging them, then ran to, and practically jumped on Alex. “Thank you so so so much, dad! I’ve wanted ice skates my _whole life_!” Alex hugged his son back, elated at how much joy this simple present had brought him. 

“I’m glad you like them, kiddo!” Philip grinned again, then kissed Alex on the cheek. “I love you, dad.” Alexander’s heart melted. 

“I love you too, Philip.”

Finally, Alexander stood up. 

“Hey!” John joked. “Don't I get one?”

“I’ll think about it,” Alexander said, matching his playful tone. “Oh, of course you do!” he said after a moment of teasing silence. “I just have to ask you a question first.”

“Oh?” Alex could practically feel John’s heartbeat speed up in excitement and nervousness, and his own heart did the same. He fumbled in his breast pocket for a moment before covering the entirety of the small box in his hands.

“John Laurens,” he began, suddenly wishing he had practiced at least once. He dropped slowly to one knee and John’s hand flew to his mouth in shock. Was he about to…? Alex opened the box to reveal a sparkling ring set with Opal.

“Will you marry me?” Almost immediately, John ran toward Alex and pulled him into a kiss that seemed to last forever. When they finally broke apart, John’s face was flushed with excitement and pure joy. Alex’s face must have shown the same. 

“So is that a yes?”

“Yes! Yes! A hundred times over, yes!” Alexander’s words were lost to him for once, caught up in all the emotion. Wordlessly, he took the ring out of its box and slipped it on John’s finger. Philip joined the two men on the ground, sitting next to John. 

“Do I get to help plan the wedding, then?” he asked cheekily. Everyone laughed as Alex and John nodded, tears sparkling on their faces.

“Of course, kiddo!” 

Everyone jumped when there was a knock on the door. Alex quickly got up, realizing who it would be. He opened the door, and sure enough...

“Lafayette!”

“Good morning, everyone!” He faltered for a moment at seeing John and Alex’s faces. “What did I miss?” he asked, grinning. There was silence for a moment, then John held up the ring on his hand. Lafayette gasped. “What?! Alexander, you proposed?!” Alexander just nodded, his face still flushed with excitement. “Well congratulations then! I suppose my gift is, er, -how you say?- well-suited, then!” It was well-suited indeed. He had brought a bottle of apple cider, something Philip had never tried before. They cracked open the bottle and poured three glasses and a small bit of a fourth one to let Philip try it. He was a little stunned by the carbonation, but laughed as the bubbles tickled his tongue. After a few hours of Christmas games, carols, and laughter, Philip asked to try out his new ice skates. 

“I don't see why not!” John said, smiling at his son’s eagerness. “There’s a small pond not far from here. It always freezes over nicely.” Alexander confirmed this with a nod. After getting into warm clothes and jackets, the small group walked to Duckling Pond, named for all the ducklings that appeared around there in mid-spring. Philip slipped his ice skates on and set off carefully around the edge of the pond, Lafayette holding his hands and guiding him. He quickly got the hang of it and soon skated off without any assistance. Alexander, however, was absolutely dreadful. He had bought himself and John a pair each last winter, but had never quite gotten the hang of it, and now it seemed, he was back to the drawing board.

“Come on,” John said with a laugh, helping his fianceé up yet again. “You’ll get the hang of it!” Alex rolled his eyes, but tried again anyway. Lafayette, who also owned a pair of ice skates himself, was skating around the pond with Philip as they played small games and tried to tag each other. The Frenchman had offered to help teach Alex, but the proud treasury-secretary had refused to be humiliated even further. The day wore on, and Alexander even managed to stay upright for more than ten seconds before falling in a snowbank! When the group headed back to the house, it was around 6:30 in the evening and it was starting to get dark. 

“I’d better be getting home,” Lafayette said. Philip looked disappointed.

“Aww, can’t you stay a little longer?” Lafayette grinned. 

“I wish I could, but I have things to do. Believe me, I'd stay if I could.” Philip looked down.

“Okay.” Suddenly, Lafayette was struck by a sudden idea. 

“You, know, if you’d like, you could call me ‘uncle, Laf,’” he said, smiling. He struggled a bit with the pronunciation, and looked a bit embarrassed, but Philip understood. His face lit up.

“You’re even more part of the family now!” Lafayette smiled and nodded as Philip hugged him.

“Well thank you for having me over. I’d better be off. I...I may have company later.” Alex and John both nodded. Hercules. As Lafayette headed to his car, John pulled Alexander in for another kiss. Philip was too busy waving at the car pulling out of the driveway to notice.

“What was that for?” Alex asked.

“Everything,” John replied simply, then turned and headed inside. 

* * *

Alexander looked around, content. John and Philip were both sound asleep. Their empty mugs of hot chocolate sat on the table, forgotten. John’s head rested lightly on Alex’s shoulder, his curly brown hair tucked into an adorable ponytail. Philip, who had sat in Alexander’s lap, had fallen asleep leaning against his dad’s chest. Alex smiled. This was a scene of peace that he had not seen in ages. A scene of family that he could scarcely remember seeing ever, aside from when he was very young. Not only was this a perfect portrait of family and love, but it was _his_ family. People _he_ loved. He had everything he could ever need or want right here, and that was enough. That would _always_ be enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have read to the end, I want you to know how much I appreciate that. This work was originally supposed to be a Christmas present for a friend, but as I finished it in March of the next year... maybe not.  
> Again, thank you so very much for reading this far. I know it was long, but I hope it was worth it. I really hope you enjoyed this fluffy story. I know I enjoyed writing it. 
> 
>   
> PLEASE READ:
> 
> "A New York Christmas" is going to be part of a series for which this story is the introduction. I've set up the AU, and now it's up to you! The "Family Fluff" series will run on prompts you guys provide me with. If you'd like to see our little family of three have any particular adventures, let me know, and I'll write them as best I can. Please do give me prompts. I enjoy writing about this little family and I'd love to write more. If you DO give me a prompt, please also let me know if you want your request to be a multi-chapter work or a one-shot.
> 
> I eagerly await your requests, and I hope to see you in the future stories. Love you all!


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